September 19th, 2011. I'm getting better at this.

I am not new at being a "blogger" but as I said in my last post, it had been a while since I last blogged. None the less, I am getting better at blogging weekly.

Even though my calender says that summer ends and fall begins at the end of this week on Friday September the 23rd, there has been a slight fall-chill in the air. I love this time of year!!! I remember being little and very excited that Halloween was getting close. There was something so exciting about falling into the mystery of Halloween , even though you knew there was nothing mysterious and certainly nothing be scared of. The cute tv shows on Nick or the Disney Channel that broadcast the same Halloween specials each year but you were so excited to catch it every year. I get that same giddy feeling every year and I am not a kid anymore. Ha! I can however, transition that feeling by decorating my new house in cute Fall decor and of course having a pumpkin carving get together. The giddy feeling of Halloween and Fall isn't lost when you get older. I'll make sure of that!!!! Yes, I'll be setting my tivo to catch those Halloween specials as well.

As this new season approaches I am so thankful to our Lord. I have been on a journey of sorts. Nothing too major outwardly but the internal change God has stirred in me is huge. I am learning from all that I can and I am blessed to be on this path God has laid for me. Some things I am learning are simple but others are a bit more difficult. I am learning to live my life based on what God's plans are for me and no one else's. Sounds simple enough but if you have been on that particular path you will know that it is quite difficult. Abandoning so many things that prior you never thought was a hindrance but God shows you one day so clearly what a stumbling block those things are in your life. Once God revealed that to me I feverishly began to pray and ask that God prepare my thoughts, body, and Spirit for that journey and battle that awaited. As Christians we come to a certain point when we realize that we can't but God can. I knew that I would not be able to move those stumbling blocks on my own, but I knew God could. Stumbling blocks are anything that keep you from being used by God 100%. Think about what is in your life whether it is your language, thoughts, actions, habits, or addictions. All of those are stumbling blocks. Some harder than others but they all do the same thing. They all keep you from totally being at service to our Lord. I tried to removed those blocks in the past but my mistake was trying to do it on my own. I needed God's help.

There will always be stumbling blocks in our life. It will be a constant battle to fight them. As long as we aren't doing it on our own and seeking God's help we will be moving forward.

So I guess Fall has become my "moving forward" season. May we all keep up the movement!

I receive morning and evening Spurgeon Devotional. Charles Spurgeon was an inspired man who was a brilliant writer and a courageous man of Christ. I will expand on Spurgeon a bit more in another blog but for now let me include a devotional from him that I received when I was beginning this journey not too long ago. Oh how the Lord is so sweet to us. He brings us comfort and peace in so many beautiful ways.

Mark of Divine Approval "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the Crown Of Life, which the LORD hath promised to them that love Him" (James 1:12). Yes, he is blessed while he is enduring the trial. No eye can see this till he has been anointed with heavenly eye salve. But he must endure it and neither rebel against God nor turn aside from his integrity. He is blessed who has gone through the fire and has not been consumed as a counterfeit. When the test is over, then comes the hallmark of divine approval -- "the crown of life." As if the LORD said, "Let him live; he has been weighed in the balances, and he is not found wanting." Life is the reward: not mere being, but holy, happy, true existence, the realization of the divine purpose concerning us. Already a higher form of spiritual life and enjoyment crowns those who have safely passed through fiercest trials of faith and love. The LORD hath promised the crown of life to those who love Him. Only lovers of the LORD will hold out in the hour of trial; the rest will either sink or sulk, or slink back to the world. Come, my heart, dost thou love thy LORD? Truly? Deeply? Wholly? Then that love will be tried; but many waters will not quench it, neither will the Roods drown it, LORD, let Thy love nourish mine to the end. -C.H. Spurgeon I hope you enjoyed that devotional as much as I did. By the way, if you are on Twitter, follow me at MReynolds03 Blessings, MR